What instruments are in a concert band?
Concert bands include instruments from the woodwind, brass and percussion families. For example:
Popular woodwind instruments include the flute, clarinet, oboe and saxophone. There tend to be a lot of flutes and clarinets because of their popularity.
Common brass instruments are the trumpet, trombone, French horn, tuba and euphonium.
Percussion instruments include different types of drums, chimes and the xylophone. There's a whole variety of percussion instruments used to create amazing sound effects.
At BDCB we have around 65 musicians. Here we are standing up after a concert at Wimborne Minster
Full list of concert band instruments
There are many types of instruments in a concert band and some have more than one musical part. That’s a lot of musicians playing different scores at the same time! Here’s a list of the concert band instruments in a full band, along with the number of parts where relevant:
Woodwind instruments:
Flutes 1, 2
Piccolos
Bass clarinet
Clarinets in Bb 1, 2, 3
Oboe 1, 2
Bassoon
Alto saxophone 1,2
Baritone saxophone
Tenor saxophone
Clarinet in Eb (occasional)
Alto clarinet (rare)
Contra alto/contra bass clarinet (very rare)
Contra bassoon (rare)
Alto flute (very rare)
Bass saxophone (very rare)
Soprano saxophone (rare)
Cor Anglais (English horn – occasional)
Brass instruments:
Tenor trombone
Bass trombone
Trumpet/cornet in Bb
Alto tenor horn in Eb
Horn
Euphonium/Baritone horn
Tuba
Flugel horn (rare)
Alto trombone (very rare)
Percussion instruments:
Snare drum
Bass drum
Tenor drum
Cymbals
Bongos
Congas
Drum set
Tambourine
Timpani
Timbales
Tom-toms
Tam-tam
Xylophone
Marimba
Crotales
Vibraphone
Glockenspiel
Chimes
Wind chimes
Triangle
Wood blocks/temple blocks
Maracas
Claves
Anvil
Vibraslap
Rain stick
Whip
Guiro
Finger cymbals
Slide whistle
Sleigh bells
Concert band vs orchestra
What's the difference between a concert band and an orchestra? This is a very common question and the main difference is that concert bands don’t typically have string instruments, whereas orchestras do. Orchestras have a large string section but you won’t find a violin, viola, or cello in a concert band. Saying this, there are a couple of exceptions: concert bands do often have a string bass or bass guitar part to strengthen the bass line.
What does a concert band layout look like?
As the conductor faces the band, the percussion is at the back. The brass instruments sit in a semi-circle in front of the percussionists and the woodwind instruments sit towards the front of the band.
Here’s what a typical concert band layout looks like:
Image credit: Band of HM Royal Marines. Here they are performing as a full concert band
So as you can see, there can be a lot of instruments in a concert band. The Conductor has a tough job listening out for all the different parts coming together!
Check out our massed bands concert to see how we managed to fit three bands together in a local hall.